Double-Pulse Laser-Driven Jets on OMEGA

A double-pulse laser drive is used to create episodic supersonic plasma jets that propagate into a low density ambient medium. These are among the first laser experiments to generate pulsed outflow. The temporal laser-intensity profile consists of two 1-ns square pulses separated by 9.6 ns. The laser is focused on a truncated conical plug made of medium Z material inserted into a high-Z washer. Unloading material from the plug is collimated within the cylindrical washer hole, then propagates into the low-Z foam medium. The resulting jet is denser than the ambient medium. Double-pulse jet evolution is compared to that driven by a single laser pulse. The total drive energy is the same for both jets, as if a source with fixed energy generated a jet from either one or two bursts. Radiographs taken at 100 ns show that a single-pulse jet was broader than the double-pulse jet, as predicted by hydrodynamic simulations. Since the initial shock creating the jet is stronger when all the energy arrives in a single pulse, the jet material impacts the ambient medium with higher initial velocity. Detailed comparisons between single- and double-pulsed jet rheology and shock structure are presented. 2-D hydrodynamic simulations are compared to the experimental radiographs. PACS: 52.30.−q 41.75.Jv 42.62.−b 42.68.Sq 47.40.−x 47.56.+r     

Colliding plasma experiments to study astrophysical-jet relevant physics

We present the results of experiments in which jets are created through the collision of two laser-produced plasmas. These experiments use a simple ‘v-foil’ target design: two thin foils are placed at an angle of 140° to each other, and irradiated with a high-energy laser. The plasmas from the rear face of these foils collide and drive plasma jets moving with a velocity of ～300 km?s^?1. By choosing the foil thickness and material to suit the laser conditions available, it has proven possible to create plasma jets for which the relevant scaling parameters show significant overlap with those of outflows associated with young stellar objects (YSOs). Preliminary results are also shown from experiments to study the effect of an ambient gas on jet propagation. Nominally identical experiments are conducted either in vacuum or in an ambient medium of 5 mbar of nitrogen gas. The gas is seen to increase the jet collimation, and to introduce shock structures at the head of the outflow.     

Supersonic plasma jet interaction with gases and plasmas

The interaction of supersonic plasma jets with dense gases and plasmas has been studied experimentally and theoretically. Collimated plasma jets were generated from the laser pulse interaction with solid targets. The jet propagates with the velocity exceeding 400 km/s and transports the energy of a few kJ/cm². The interaction of such a jet with an Ar and He gases at various pressures has been studied by using optical and X-ray diagnostics. Qualitative estimates and numerical simulations with a radiative hydrodynamic code explain a sequence of physical processes during the interaction. Experimental and numerical results show that, by changing ambient material, the working surface structure changes from an adiabatic outflow to a radiative cooling jet. The applications of this phenomenon to astrophysical conditions and the inertial confinement fusion are discussed.     

Design of jet-driven, radiative-blast-wave experiments for 10 kJ class lasers

We discuss the design of jet-driven, radiative-blast-wave experiments for a 10 kJ class pulsed laser facility. The astrophysical motivation is the fact that jets from Young Stellar Objects are typically radiative and that the resulting radiative bow shocks produce complex structure that is difficult to predict. To drive a radiative bow shock, the jet velocity must exceed the threshold for strong radiative effects. Using a 10 kJ class laser, it is possible to produce such a jet that can drive a radiative bow shock in gas that is dense enough to permit diagnosis by x-ray radiography. We describe the design and simulations of such experiments. The basic approach is to shock the jet material and then accelerate it through a collimating hole and into a Xe ambient medium. We identify issues that must be addressed through experimentation or further simulations in order to field successful experiments.     

The influence of the environment on the propagation of protostellar outflows

The properties of bipolar outflows depend on the structure in the environment as well as the nature of the jet. To help distinguish between the two, we investigate here the properties pertaining to the ambient medium. We execute axisymmetric hydrodynamic simulations, injecting continuous atomic jets into molecular media with density gradients (protostellar cores) and density discontinuities (thick swept-up sheets). We determine the distribution of outflowing mass with radial velocity (the mass spectrum) to quantify our approach and to compare to observationally determined values. We uncover a sequence from clump entrainment in the flanks to bow shock sweeping as the density profile steepens. We also find that the dense, highly supersonic outflows remain collimated but can become turbulent after passing through a shell. The mass spectra vary substantially in time, especially at radial speeds exceeding 15 km s⁻¹. The mass spectra also vary according to the conditions: both envelope-type density distributions and the passage through dense sheets generate considerably steeper mass spectra than a uniform medium. The simulations suggest that observed outflows penetrate highly non-uniform media.     

What Drives Molecular Outflows from Young Stars?

After briefly reviewing observations of molecular outflows from young stars, we discuss current ideas as to how they might be accelerated. Broadly speaking it is thought that such outflows represented either deflected accreted gas, or ambient material that has been pushed by a poorly collimated wind or accelerated by a highly collimated jet. Observations tend to favour the latter model, with jets being the clear favourite at least for the youngest flows. Jets from young stars may accelerate ambient gas either through the development of a boundary layer, where ambient and jet material are turbulently mixed, or at the working surface of the jet, i.e. the bow shock, via the prompt entrainment mechanism. Recently, we (Downes and Ray, 1999) have investigated, through simulations, the efficiency of prompt entrainment in jets from young stars as a means of accelerating ambient molecular gas without causing dissociation. Prompt entrainment was found to be very poor at transferring momentum from the jet to its surroundings in both the case of ``heavy' (not surprizingly) but also ``equi-density' (with respect to the ambient environment) jets. Moreover the transfer efficiency decreases with increasing density as the bow shock takes on a more aerodynamic shape. Models, however, in which jets are the ultimate prime movers, do have the advantage that they can reproduce several observational features of molecular outflows. In particular a power law relationship for mass versus velocity, similar to what is observed, is predicted by the simulations and the so-called ``Hubble Law' for molecular outflows is naturally explained. Pulsing of the jet, i.e. varying its velocity, is found to have little effect on the momentum transfer efficiency at least for the dynamically young jets we have studied. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The Environment of YSO Jets

It is commonly accepted that stars form in molecular clouds by the gravitational collapse of dense gas. However, it is precisely not the infalling but the outflowing material that is primarily observed. Outflow motions prevail around both low and high mass young stellar objects. We present here results from a family of self-similar models that could possibly help to understand this paradox. The models take into account the heating of the central protostar for the deflection and acceleration of the gas. The models make room for all the ingredients observed around the central objects, i.e. molecular outflows, fast jets, accretion disks and infalling envelopes. We suggest that radiative heating and magnetic field may ultimately be the main energy sources driving outflows for both low and high mass stars. The models show that the ambient medium surrounding the jet is unhomogeneous in density, velocity, magnetic field. Consequently, we suggest that jets and outflows have a prehistory that is inprinted in their environment, and that this should have direct consequences on the setting of jet numerical simulations.     

On possible 'cosmic ray cocoons' of relativistic jets

We consider effects on an (ultra)relativistic jet and its ambient medium caused by high-energy cosmic rays accelerated at the jet side boundary. As illustrated by simple models, during the acceleration process a flat cosmic ray distribution can be created, with gyro-radii for the highest particle energies reaching scales comparable to the jet radius or energy density comparable to the pressure of the ambient medium . In the case of efficient radiative losses, a high-energy bump in the spectrum can dominate the cosmic ray pressure. In extreme cases, the cosmic rays are able to push the ambient medium off, providing a 'cosmic ray cocoon' separating the jet from the surrounding medium. The considered cosmic rays provide an additional jet braking force and lead to a number of consequences for the jet structure and its radiative output. In particular, the dynamic and acceleration time-scales involved are in the range observed in variable active galactic nuclei.     

Investigating the Astrophysical Applicability of Radiative and Non-Radiative Blast wave Structure in Cluster Media

We describe experiments that investigate the capability of an experimental platform, based on laser-driven blast waves created in a medium of atomic clusters, to produce results that can be scaled to astrophysical situations. Quantitative electron density profiles were obtained for blast waves produced in hydrogen, argon, krypton and xenon through the interaction of a high intensity (I ≈ 10¹⁷ Wcm⁻²), sub-ps laser pulse. From this we estimate the local post-shock temperature, compressibility, shock strength and adiabatic index for each gas. Direct comparisons between blast wave structures for consistent relative gas densities were achieved through careful gas jet parameter control. From these we investigate the applicability of different radiative and Sedov-Taylor self-similar solutions, and therefore the (ρ,T) phase space that we can currently access.     

The gas kinematics in the Mrk 533 nucleus and circumnuclear region: a gaseous outflow

We present an analysis of 3D spectra of Mrk 533, observed with the integral-field spectrograph MultiPupil Fiber Spectrograph (MPFS) and using the Fabry-Perot Interferometer (FPI) of the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SAO RAS) 6-m telescope. We found emissions of gas from the active type 2 Seyfert nucleus in the centre and also from the H  ii regions in a spiral structure and a circumnuclear region. The gas kinematics shows regular non-circular motions in the wide range of galactocentric distances from 500 pc up to 15 kpc. The maps of inward and outward radial motions of the ionized gas were constructed. We found that the narrow-line region (NLR) is composed of at least two (probably three) kinematically separated regions. We detect a stratification in the NLR of Mrk 533 with the outflow velocity ranging from 20–50 km s⁻¹ to 600–700 km s⁻¹, respectively, on the radial distances of ∼2.5 and ∼1.5 kpc. The maximal outflow velocity comes from the nucleus and corresponds to the position of the observed radio structure, which is assumed to be created in an approaching jet. We suggest that these ionized gas outflows are triggered by the radio jet intrusion in an ambient medium.     

Solar plasma structuring due to two-dimensional pinch effect over the photosphere

We study the behavior of the solar plasma over the photosphere in the zone of contact of oppositely directed magnetic fields. A special technique of numerical simulation is used, which allows passing to the class of generalized functions as soon as the solution loses smoothness. An initial-value problem is solved for the self-consistent nonlinear system of equations of collisional magneto-gas-dynamics under the assumption that the distribution of physical quantities is two-dimensional and the plasma has an initial temperature of 50 000 degrees. It is assumed that the magnetic field lines are straight, the physical quantities are constant along them, and the resulting fluid velocity is perpendicular to the magnetic field. It is shown that a pinch effect develops under such conditions, which gives rise to much more diverse effects in a natural ambient medium than in a laboratory plasma. The pinch effect produces narrow, variously directed jets of matter (including those going beyond the zone of contact of the fields), forms cross-shaped patterns in the distribution of the magnetic field, velocity and density, and gives rise to specific temperature nonuniformities. In the center of the contact zone, the plasma temperature increases (we terminate the computations when it doubles). The jet velocity can exceed 20 km/s.     

Formation of episodic magnetically driven radiatively cooled plasma jets in the laboratory

We report on experiments in which magnetically driven radiatively cooled plasma jets were produced by a 1 MA, 250 ns current pulse on the MAGPIE pulsed power facility. The jets were driven by the pressure of a toroidal magnetic field in a “magnetic tower” jet configuration. This scenario is characterized by the formation of a magnetically collimated plasma jet on the axis of a magnetic “bubble”, confined by the ambient medium. The use of a radial metallic foil instead of the radial wire arrays employed in our previous work allows for the generation of episodic magnetic tower outflows which emerge periodically on timescales of ～30 ns. The subsequent magnetic bubbles propagate with velocities reaching ～300 km/s and interact with previous eruptions leading to the formation of shocks.     

Plasma Jet Experiments Using LULI 2000 Laser Facility

We present experiments performed with the LULI2000 nanosecond laser facility. We generated plasma jets by using specific designed target. The main measured quantities related to the jet such as its propagation velocity, temperature and emissive radius evolution are presented. We also performed analytical work, which explains the jet evolution in some cases.     

How Produce a Plasma Jet Using a Single and Low Energy Laser Beam

Under suitable conditions on laser intensity, focal spot radius and atomic number a radiative jet was launched from a planar target. This jet was produced using a relatively low energy laser pulse, below 500 J and it presents similarities with astrophysical protostellar jets. It lasts more than 10 ns, extends over several millimeters, has velocity more than 500 km/s, the Mach number more than 10 and the density above 10¹⁸ cm⁻³. The mechanism of jet formation was inferred from the dimensional analysis and hydrodynamic two-dimensional simulations. It is related to the radiative cooling while the magnetic fields play a minor role. PACS numbers: 98.38.Fs, 52.50.Jm, 95.30.Qd     

Simulations of multiphase turbulence in jet cocoons

The interaction of optically emitting clouds with warm X-ray gas and hot, tenuous radio plasma in radio jet cocoons is modelled by 2D compressible hydrodynamic simulations. The initial setup is the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability at a contact surface of density contrast 10⁴. The denser medium contains clouds of higher density. Optically thin radiation is realized via a cooling source term. The cool phase effectively extracts energy from the other gas which is both, radiated away and used for acceleration of the cold phase. This increases the system's cooling rate substantially and leads to a massively amplified cold mass dropout. We show that it is feasible, given small seed clouds of the order of  100 M_⊙  , that all of the optically emitting gas in a radio jet cocoon may be produced by this mechanism on the propagation time-scale of the jet. The mass is generally distributed as   T ^−1/2  with temperature, with a prominent peak at 14 000 K. This peak is likely to be related to the counteracting effects of shock heating and a strong rise in the cooling function. The volume filling factor of cold gas in this peak is of the order of  10⁻⁵–10⁻³  and generally increases during the simulation time.
The simulations tend towards an isotropic scale-free Kolmogorov-type energy spectrum over the simulation time-scale. We find the same Mach-number density relation as Kritsuk & Norman and show that this relation may explain the velocity widths of emission lines associated with high-redshift radio galaxies, if the environmental temperature is lower, or the jet-ambient density ratio is less extreme than in their low-redshift counterparts.     

Observations of magnetic flux compression in jet impact experiments

The astrophysical jet experiment at Caltech generates a T=2–5 eV, n=10²¹–10²² m⁻³ plasma jet using coplanar disk electrodes linked by a poloidal magnetic field. A 100 kA current generates a toroidal magnetic field; the toroidal field pressure inflates the poloidal flux surface, magnetically driving the jet. The jet travels at up to 50 km/s for ∼20–25 cm before colliding with a cloud of initially neutral gas. We study the interaction of the jet and the cloud in analogy to an astrophysical jet impacting a molecular cloud. Diagnostics include magnetic probe arrays, a 12-channel spectroscopic system and a fast camera with optical filters. When a hydrogen plasma jet collides with an argon target cloud, magnetic measurements show the magnetic flux compressing as the plasma jet deforms. As the plasma jet front slows and the plasma piles up, the density of the frozen-in magnetic flux increases.     

Numerical Simulations of Impulsively Generated Magnetosonic Waves in a Coronal Loop

We consider impulsively excited magnetosonic waves in a highly magnetized coronal loop that is approximated by a straight plasma slab of enhanced mass density. Numerical results reveal that wavelet spectra of time signatures of these waves possess characteristic shapes that depend on the position of the initial pulse: in the case of a pulse launched inside the slab, these spectra are of a tadpole shape, while for a pulse excited in the ambient medium these spectra display more complex structures with branches of long and short-period waves. These short period oscillations correspond to waves that are trapped inside the slab, and the long-period oscillations are associated with waves that propagate through the ambient medium and reach the detection point. These findings are compatible with recent theoretical studies and observations by the solar eclipse coronal imaging system (SECIS).     

Three episodes of jet activity in the Fanaroff–Riley type II radio galaxy B0925+420

We present Very Large Array images of a 'double–double radio galaxy', a class of objects in which two pairs of lobes are aligned either side of the nucleus. In this object, B0 925+420, we discover a third pair of lobes, close to the core and again in alignment with the other lobes. This first-known 'triple–double' object strongly increases the likelihood that these lobes represent multiple episodes of jet activity, as opposed to knots in an underlying jet. We model the lobes in terms of their dynamical evolution. We find that the inner pair of lobes are consistent with the outer pair having been displaced buoyantly by the ambient medium. The middle pair of lobes are more problematic – to the extent where an alternative model interpreting the middle and inner 'lobes' as additional bow shocks within the outer lobes may be more appropriate – and we discuss the implications of this on our understanding of the density of the ambient medium.     

A technique for calculating meteor plasma density and meteoroid mass from radar head echo scattering

Large-aperture radars detect the high-density plasma that forms in the vicinity of a meteoroid and moves approximately at its velocity; reflections from these plasmas are called head echoes. To determine the head plasma density and configuration, we model the interaction of a radar wave with the plasma without using assumptions about plasma density. This paper presents a scattering method that enables us to convert measurements of radar cross-section (RCS) from a head echo into plasma density by applying a spherical scattering model. We use three methods to validate our model. First, we compare the maximum plasma densities determined from the spherical solution using 30 head echoes detected simultaneously at VHF and UHF. Second, we use a head echo detected simultaneously at VHF, UHF and L-band to compare plasma densities at all frequencies. Finally, we apply our spherical solution to 723 VHF head echoes and calculate plasma density, line density and meteoroid mass in order to compare these values with those obtained from a meteoroid ablation and ionization model. In all three comparisons, our results show that the spherical solution produces consistent results across a wide frequency range and agrees well with the single-body ablation model.